Powering A Global Career: Tom Bowes

Did you study law?

I studied International Studies and Law.

Was there any particular reason that drew you to Freehills (as was)?

They offered me a clerkship, but I also knew some people that were already with the firm and they recommended it. I started in a team that specialised in electricity, energy, as well as some mining, that was part of the Corporate M&A team. I was just randomly allocated there, but that has dictated my whole career. I've become an M&A lawyer, but always within the power and infrastructure sphere.

What interests you about the power sector?

I don't consider myself an old man, but it's completely transformed in the time I've been practising. When I started, about 90% of the power generated in the East Coast of Australia was coal-fired. Now, renewables is a higher percentage than thermal power in that market.

Climate change and energy security have become a major commercial driver of everything that's happened since. I have found that transition very interesting. People want to understand it as a political issue, supporting one solution or another reflexively. What I have discovered, working alongside engineers and commercial decisionmakers at Marubeni, is that engineering is the real driver of the change. Some technologies work well as solutions in some places, others we are still working on it.

Who were the people who inspired you at HSF Kramer?

When I was a summer clerk in Sydney Andy Blacoe had just joined Freehills from Herbert Smith. He was then an associate, but he was very encouraging, and now he is the managing partner of the Tokyo office. He helped to facilitate the secondments to Japan. The other influence was the partner Rob de Boer, now the GC of the Energy Corporation of NSW, who put me on the path of the power industry, electricity and so on.

What skills did they ingrain in you?

The black letter law, the technical skills, and the discipline just from being in a firm environment. But I think the standout skills that came from Rob and Andy were really getting to know clients, making an effort to be your client's friends and have that deep relationship so that you were there when they really needed you as a lawyer. The relationship should not be just transactional. Becoming part of a team.

I assume your interest in Japan came about because you were offered a secondment, is that right?

It was while I was in the power team in Sydney and an opportunity came up to go on secondment with Mitsui, which had an investment by Mitsui in the power sector in Australia.

Tell us what you're doing now.

I'm a lawyer for Marubeni's Power and Infrastructure department. Although I am a lawyer, I sit in the commercial team, supporting transactions and dealing with disputes as and when they arise. From a legal corporate perspective, that divides between projects work and M&A deals. As of last year, Marubeni has concentrated on divestments and shorter-term investments rather than on long-term project development.

I have another Australian lawyer who works with me, who is also an HSF Kramer alumnus, as it happens, Ravi Arora.

How is it working for a Japanese company, as a foreigner?

The culture is, it's true to say, entirely different to a law firm, but I am familiar with the working environment, having previously done secondments with Mitsui, Sojitz and Marubeni before I joined them permanently. Your day-to-day life is generally much quieter, and to take any action there are clearly defined processes which you have to follow. There is less encouragement for individuals to make their own decisions or follow their own instincts. Everything is reported and consulted on to ensure that you know decisions are taken collectively. You need to fold into that, which can be difficult if you haven't grown up in that culture, but it's stimulating as well to see the benefits.

What language do you work in generally?

It's a Japanese speaking office, but my Japanese is not strong. My role is to work on English-language contracts, so that does not prove to be a problem.

How do you find living in Japan?

It's a great place to live. I live outside Tokyo now, near Kamakura by the beach. That has helped me to get to know more Japanese people, perhaps ironically, since you would assume I would meet more in Tokyo. I play for an Australian Rules football team, the Tokyo Gowanas, which was established in 1991. There's a league in Tokyo and four other teams who are mainly Japanese, so that's my main hobby and that provides a good connection to Australian friends and Australian culture, as well as Japanese outside a professional context. I've made my family and my career here and I am very happy.

Do you have flexible working now or do you have to go into the office every day?

My role is very flexible and maybe, surprisingly, I think Marubeni power team is very encouraging of flexibility. I think that COVID gave cover to a lot of Japanese companies to try things that they've been encouraged to do or thinking about doing for a long time. It is interesting that Nithia has the same impression. I think a lot of Japanese companies are actually surprised by how many of their staff value the flexibility when it has been offered.

You are involved with something called the LBW trust: I assume this is cricket-related?

LBW is an Australian charity. It was started by cricket journalists, and it provides scholarships into tertiary education for students in cricket-playing countries in the global South. The trust raises money at the big cricket events, such as Test matches, in Australia. The way we spend the money has nothing to do with cricket. We try to find the most deserving students from areas of real disadvantage in India, Sri Lanka and Nepal, South Africa, Kenya and so on, and then monitor those programmes and see the great results.

We have provided more than 10,000 scholarships over nearly 20 years. We've had a big impact, but the budget is a bit stretched as always. So if anybody is reading this, please get involved.

How did you come to be involved?

I played for a cricket team in Australia, called the Nondescripts. Some of the old boys had been involved in setting up LBW Trust, and when they found out I was a lawyer, they asked me to help, initially as company secretary. I have since done other roles and now I chair the education committee, reviewing programmes and assessing whether our money's being well spent. It has been, and is, very fulfilling.

What is your family?

I met my wife at Mitsui during my first secondment. HSF Kramer was good enough to find me another role in the Tokyo office so we could be together. We now have a five-year-old boy. His mother's passion is animals, which he has taken after.

* More information on the LBW Trust here.

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